Report of Secretary. 25 



where an audience has been secured, through curiosity or other- 

 wise, she has aroused great interest, and in many cases a per- 

 manent organization has been effected promising much for the 

 future. Since she has been with the Board she has addressed 78 

 meetings composed of 3,776 people and organized 23 active 

 working home makers' clubs: In Dade county, 4; Dent, 1; 

 Jackson, 5; Buchanan, 5; Montgomery, 1; Cape Girardeau, 1; 

 Harrison, 2; Chariton, 1; Lafayette, 1, and Pike, 1. 



Since beginning of this institute year we have held 240 

 institutes in 77 counties, with a total attendance of 53,612. 



ECONOMY IN CONDUCTING WORK. 



I might as well give some comparisons of our work with 

 that done in other states. We have an appropriation of $17,500 

 for the Farmers' Institute fund for the years 1913 and 1914. 

 Assuming that every dollar is spent in the institute work alone, 

 we would have $8,750 for the calendar year. The United States 

 reports of institute work in all the states for the fiscal year ending 

 July 1, 1913, shows for Missouri 314 days of institute work, and 

 allowing the full half of our biennial appropriation for this work 

 alone, our work costs $27.86 per day. The same report shows for 

 Kansas an average of $39.91; Iowa, $155.19; Illinois, $85.39; 

 Kentucky, $119.32; Nebraska, $55.12. Michigan stands lowest 

 at $15.25. 



This comparison does not tell all the truth, for we do not 

 spend $8,750 on the institutes. When we deduct the money 

 spent for Farmers' Week, for prizes given to encourage corn 

 growing, meat curing, dairying, tomato growing, etc., as well 

 as the expenses of speakers for the Farmers' Week, we reduce the 

 $27.86 daily cost of the institute work to near one-half, and this 

 should be done to give a fair comparison with results in other 

 states. While the demand for the help afforded by our insti- 

 tutes has not fallen off, the appropriations by our recent Legis- 

 lature for this work was reduced $5,000, as compared to that of 

 the previous session, by leaving out the appropriation for the 

 extension course. 



HIGHWAY engineer's DEPARTMENT ABOLISHED. 



The Highway Engineer's Department was abolished by the 

 recent Legislature and that work transferred to the Highway 

 Commissioner. 



